Jura 18 years old
Aged in ex Bourbon barrels then finished in Grand Cru Bordeaux wine.
ABV: 44%
Price $100(USD)
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The first distillery on the Isle of Jura might have seen the light of day in 1810, distillation was in effect as early as 1502 ! Probably some Irish monks…drunk…just an hypothesis ! Back to the XIXth Century, the distillery, not named Jura yet, changed owners many times, like the vast majority of Scottish distilleries at the time.
One fun story, very representative of the Scots, is about taxes and roofs : Colin Campbell, owner of the lands on Jura, raised taxes on all buildings. The distillery owners moved to Glasgow, but Campbell pursued them to get his money. So the distillery’s roof was taken off. You see, at that time, roofless buildings were exempted from taxes !!!
The distillery as it is known today was rebuild in 1963. It was producing a big peated malt, as its neighbors from Islay, but it was then decided to create a non peated single malt putting forward the more brimmy and seaside of Jura. Some expressions are peated, but the majority is not !
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Color : deep golden amber.
Nose : a fantastic nose ! Bursts of holiday baking spices, slight aroma of orange zest and berries.
Palate : more berries and hints of chocolate and nutmeg , amazing smooth and rich.
Finish : the notes from the wine finish come in to take a bow, along with more chocolate and toffee. Only a small faint wig of smoke.
Comments : Matured for eighteen years in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels and finished in Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux barrels. I just love how the slight peat they use along with this specific wine finish. Creating a well balanced pour.